A day in the life: Interviews with three PE/VC librarians

ABSTRACT

This article is an interview with three librarians with extensive experience in private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) research. Two of the participants work in a business research consultancy and one works in an academic library within a graduate business school. They shared their thoughts on what is unique or noteworthy about conducting research in these areas. Topics covered include: a typical workday; common research requests; information resources used; differences in research in private equity and venture capital; the information needs of entrepreneurs, students and professors; and challenges that arise in conducting PE and VC research.     

The Role of Values in Preservice Teachers' Decision to Teach

The current study explored the values preservice teachers use as motivation for pursuing a teaching career. Preservice teachers (N = 97) from a large Northeastern urban university were chosen to complete a survey measuring personal utility value, social utility value, and epistemic value. Data analysis was conducted using exploratory factor analysis, correlations, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Results indicated moderate and significant correlations among subscales; a two-group MANOVA demonstrated that females were rated higher on the subscale desire to work with children/adolescents and Secondary Education participants rated highest on social contribution; and a MANCOVA using sex as the covariate demonstrated that participants pursuing Early Childhood Education were rated higher on the personal utility value main scale and the time for family and job transferability subscales.     

The evolutionary design of a Knowledge Network to support knowledge management and sharing for lifelong learning

Knowledge Management (KM) and knowledge sharing are important factors that support lifelong learning, and enable people to continue developing throughout their careers. The concept of a Community of Practice ( Wenger, 2000 ) is attractive in drawing together people whose work shares similar aspects, and consideration is given here to how technology can be used to develop and support such a community. In this paper, concepts from the Community of Practice literature are used to consider the development of a software environment for people working as a community in the area of lifelong learning. The intention was to design the system in an evolutionary way, using a minimal set of essential elements which would be elaborated according to user feedback. Three key design questions are considered: Who can contribute resources to such a system? What happens to existing practices? How is the community engaged? We conclude that, in lifelong learning, knowledge management supported by a software environment offers a good way to bring together communities, resources and experience, but to achieve these benefits, great care needs to be exerted in introducing the system and maintaining existing work practices.     

Licencing and training reform in the Australian aircraft maintenance industry

The training and licencing of aircraft maintenance engineers fulfils a crucial protective function since it is they who perform and supervise aircraft maintenance and certify that planes are safe afterwards. In Australia, prior to training reform, a trades-based system of aircraft maintenance engineer training existed in an orderly relation with the system of licencing, regulated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). Training reform through the 1990s gave rise to concerns that the training system could not be relied upon to deliver adequate numbers of trainees with valid qualifications. From 2007, CASA introduced new regulations, designed to align Australia’s qualifications and licencing with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This process saw the aviation regulator effectively cede much quality control of training to an increasingly dysfunctional training system, giving rise to doubts about whether Australia’s international obligations for quality aircraft maintenance training can be fulfilled.     

Teacher adaptation to flexible learning environments

Learning Environments Research - Teaching practices respond to the prompts, resources and inherent potential of a school’s physical, social and cultural landscape. This study involved how...     

The role of values in pre-service teachers’ intentions for professional engagement

This study investigated inclusion of epistemic value into Richardson and Watt Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) framework to produce a more robust, useful teacher motivation model. We specifically examined pre-service teachers’ social utility value (SUV), personal utility value (PUV) and epistemic value regarding pursuing future professional engagement and development. Using principal axis factoring, we found four main factors: PUV, SUV, epistemic value—future value of knowledge (EVF) and persistence/satisfaction. These factors were then used in a structural equation model (SEM) to predict pre-service teachers’ intentions to pursue future professional engagement. Results provided the following three insights: (a) SUV was the most consistent, positive predictor of professional engagement and predicted all dependent variables; (b) EVF was a newly identified factor and a positive predictor of pre-service teachers’ desire to pursue a leadership position and (c) PUV negatively predicted planned effort and a desire to pursue a leadership position.     

Developing conceptions of food and nutrition

This paper describes an investigation of concepts that various groups hold about food and nutrition. Groups investigated were students in Years 4 and 8, university students in a BEd (primary) program and parents of the Year 4 students. It was found that for many important concepts relating to food selection, the basic ideas of each group were surprisingly consistent, despite the influence of formal education. In particular, misconception about energy and its role in nutrition and particular food groups was an important finding. Implications for school and community education are drawn from the results. Specialization: science curricula.     

A Qualitative Analysis of the Immediate and Short-term Impact of an Environmental Interpretive Program

This study utilized qualitative measures to further understand if an environmental interpretive experience can enhance an environmental ethic. A discursive approach to emergent design was used to generate grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). In the methods used, the phenomenological data gathered during the study directed the design of each step of the research as it evolved. Twenty-four 4th graders were randomly selected from three classes from a rural town in southern Indiana (USA). These students participated in a field trip to a US Forest Service site near their school district. Methodologies utilized in this program included ranger-led discussions, facilitated explorations, and nature 'games'. The data was collected through post interviews (1 week following treatment) and post post interviews (4 months after program). The findings indicated that the environmental interpretive program had a strong positive impact on students' affect toward the resource site. The findings also indicated retention of game mechanics and the content imbedded in these games. Cognitive and behavioral impacts were limited.